ABA legal ed section’s council adopts tighter bar pass standard; clock for compliance starts now

Following multiple years of discussion, and two rejections from the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates, the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar adopted a proposed revision to tighten an accreditation standard regarding bar passage Friday.

May 17, 2019 4:29 PM CDT

Harvard Law professor leaves Harvey Weinstein defense team, then loses faculty dean post

Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., a Harvard Law School professor, resigned last week from Harvey Weinstein’s criminal defense team. However, that didn’t stop the university’s decision to remove him and his wife, lecturer Stephanie Robinson, from their roles as faculty deans for undergraduate student housing.

May 16, 2019 1:25 PM CDT

If you had a do-over, would you still go to law school?

Lawyers early in their career often are conflicted about their choices. In a survey of the Florida Bar's Young Lawyers Division, released earlier this year, 30% of respondents would not enroll in law school knowing what they know now, and 32% gave the paper chase a lukewarm "maybe."

May 15, 2019 12:11 PM CDT

David Van Zandt has made a career out of touching third rails in higher education

When David Van Zandt became dean of what is now Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law in 1995, he faced a steep learning curve. Up until then, he had never managed an organization of more than a few people.

May 15, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

ABA legal ed section’s council to reconsider stricter bar passage standard

May 10, 2019 5:02 PM CDT

Vermont Law faculty had little say when tenure was removed, says new report

When Vermont Law School, facing significant financial pressures, stripped 14 professors of tenure in 2018, it did not adequately involve faculty in the decision-making process, according to a report from the American Association of University Professors.

May 10, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

30% of young lawyers in this state wouldn’t go to law school in a do-over

Many young lawyers in Florida are having some misgivings about their choice of a legal career or their particular field of practice. A survey by the Florida Bar’s Young Lawyers Division, released earlier this year, asked the lawyers whether, if they had to do it over again, they would still…

May 9, 2019 10:56 AM CDT

Nondiscrimination policy at Yale Law School is legal but perhaps should be changed, lawyers say

May 1, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Jobs for Class of ’18 overall see ‘modest increase’ but with fewer graduates than last year

There was a slight uptick in law firm, government and public interest jobs for the Class of 2018, according to employment outcomes released Monday by the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

Apr 29, 2019 4:36 PM CDT

New program will pay some law school admittees to defer studies and work in public interest

Weil, Gotshal & Manges recently announced a program that funds yearlong public interest positions for individuals admitted to a handful of prestigious law schools who are willing to put off their studies for one year. The Weil Legal Innovators Program will fund the public interest work of 10 prelaw students,…

Apr 26, 2019 2:08 PM CDT

New law school survey tracks inclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals

In terms of openly gay faculty members, the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, with 14, may have the most, according to a new survey from the National LGBT Bar Association. The Law School Climate Survey uses the term LGBTQ+, which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender…

Apr 25, 2019 2:13 PM CDT

Cooley Law’s new dean says he’s ‘here to fix’ school’s reputation

James McGrath, a professor and associate dean at Texas A&M University School of Law, has been tapped to serve as president and dean at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. The school announced Tuesday that McGrath will take the reins on July 1, becoming the third president and sixth dean…

Apr 24, 2019 4:12 PM CDT

All InfiLaw suits against the ABA appear to be headed to resolution

Charlotte School of Law filed a motion Tuesday to dismiss, with prejudice, its lawsuit against the American Bar Association. The school is one of three law schools owned by the for-profit InfiLaw Corp., an entity of the private equity firm Sterling Capital Partners. Each school sued the ABA in May…

Apr 24, 2019 11:22 AM CDT

Law school group helps first-gen law students get ‘a leg up’

Some say that law school is a game, and you’re at a loss if you come in not knowing how it’s played. “There are times when you don’t know how to associate with the people you’re associating with in the legal profession, and it can feel like a glass ceiling,”…

Apr 23, 2019 11:14 AM CDT

For lawyers with autism, the work often pairs up with things they do well

In honor of National Autism Awareness Month, attorneys with autism share what it’s like to practice law and live with the disability.

Apr 22, 2019 6:30 AM CDT